Chemistry: Articles:
Primary scientific literature
Primary scientific
literature has several characteristics.
 | Papers describe original
research and are, in general, written in enough detail that someone could
repeat the experiments to verify the results.
 | They often have a
"Materials and Methods" section |
| Authors may use "We"
or "I" to describe what was done |
| They usually are very
specific: mentioning particular chemical substances, etc. |
|
| Papers usually start
with an introduction: an overview of the subject to set the stage for the
research. A very explicit description of what was done follows: the
materials and methods used and/or the exact location and sampling
procedures. The discussion section will attempt to place the work in a
larger theoretical context and may suggest further research to verify and
extend the conclusions. |
| Papers may be difficult
to read if the general subject isn't well understood: reading secondary
works such as books, chapters or review articles first may help to place
the research in context. |
Where to find primary
articles:
| Databases by Subject > Chemistry >
Chemistry--General -
Search databases that include scholarly and peer-reviewed journals. In
your search terms, include words that appear in primary research articles:
analysis, quantify, determination,
etc. |
| Theses &
dissertations: A thesis or dissertation will usually report the
results of original, ground-breaking research. To locate CSUF Chemistry
theses in the Library Catalog,
search by KEYWORD: CSUF thesis chemistry. |
|
Secondary sources: Secondary sources, review articles, books,
etc., will usually refer to the primary literature in the
bibliography. You can sometimes tell by the referral context whether the
article will be primary, e.g., "In their experiments on this specific
substance under these specific conditions, Smith and Jones show..." |
| Peer-reviewed
journals: Some journals publish mainly primary literature. This can be
useful if you are browsing to find a topic. |
|
|
